Free The Lonely Hearts Club by Radclyffe

the other hand, the prospect of spending the rest of the evening at home in her half-empty condo, surrounded by reminders of her most recent failure, was depressing. She turned to Bren and Candace. “What do you say?”
    “I’ve got some work I’ve been putting off,” Bren said. “I think I’ll head home. You can give Candace a ride, right Liz?”
    “I’ll take care of Candace,” Parker said quickly.
    Candace gave Parker a slow once over. “I guess I’m going to the pub, then.” She grasped Liz’s hand. “Come with. It’ll be fun.”
    Liz glanced at Reilly.
    “Come on,” Reilly said with a smile, although her eyes were unexpectedly serious. “You have to help us celebrate whipping the Hammers.”
    “Hey!” Parker protested.
    “Okay,” Liz agreed, deciding there was no harm in a friendly get-together. And after all, there was safety in numbers, and Candace would be there.
    After Liz and Candace hugged Bren goodbye, Candace sidled over to Liz while Reilly and Parker gathered their gear. “Does Reilly know about the baby?”
    “No. Why should she?”
    “If you’re thinking of dating—”
    “I’m not.”
    “Okay. But maybe you should let her know that.”
    “Don’t worry. I will, if I need to,” Liz said irritably. “Sometimes, two lesbians can just be friends, you know.”
    “Uh-huh.” Candace linked her arm through Liz’s. “Then I guess we should go join our friends .”
    “You know, sometimes you’re a real pain in the ass.”
    Candace laughed. “I know, but you still love me.”
    Liz watched Reilly shoulder her equipment bag and tried not to think about friends and lovers and the shifting boundaries that divided them.

Chapter Seven

    Reilly leaned back in her chair across the rickety scarred wood tabletop from Liz and watched her laugh at something Candace was telling her. Parker had squeezed onto the bench seat next to Candace and Liz, and all the adjoining tables were filled with players, from their teams and others. The baseline noise level in the crowded, dimly lit sports bar was so loud that ordinary conversation was a challenge, and Reilly couldn’t hear the joke. She didn’t mind, though, because being on the edge of the action gave her the opportunity to observe Liz without being obvious about it.
    Ordinarily, she didn’t stay for more than one beer—just long enough to keep Sean and her other teammates from bugging her about never going out. Work and softball and her nights at the dojang were plenty to fill up her time. She didn’t go to parties. Being single was pretty much like having a blinking sign on her back saying “hit on me,” and she got tired of saying no. She got tired of asking herself why she was still saying no, too. Tonight was unusual. Getting a win off the Hammers was always a high, but that wasn’t the only reason she was feeling so good. Liz tilted her head back and laughed again, emphasizing the long, smooth column of her neck, and Reilly was reminded of how deceptively fragile a woman’s body could appear. She imagined if she skimmed her fingertips along the angle of Liz’s jaw and over her throat she’d discover the steely strength of tight muscles beneath satin skin. Her gaze drifted lower to the swell of Liz’s breasts and her hands trembled. Quickly, she lifted her gaze and found Liz staring at her with a half-smile.
    Nonplussed, Reilly drained her beer and only then remembered she had come right from the hospital after spending the entire afternoon reconstructing an open shoulder from a gunshot wound. She hadn’t had time for dinner, and now she had a bit of a buzz on. That probably explained why she felt flushed and just a little bit shaky. Her pulse was racing, too. She looked at the empty bottle clenched in her fist. It was only her second, at least, that’s what she thought. Or had Parker bought another round for the table a while ago? Jesus, it wasn’t like her not to pay attention to what was going on around her.
    “You